Family describes 2 slain as 'stand-up guys'

January 28, 2009

People gather around a woman reported to be the mother of one of the two slaying victims. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) See more photos here.

The two men who were found shot to death this morning in a South Side apartment had known each other for decades and would visit nearly every day to talk and play cards, family and friends said as they gathered outside the building to mourn their deaths.

The men were found shot to death shortly after 8 a.m. inside an apartment building in the 6800 block of South Indiana Avenue, police said. Family members identified the men as Ronald "Ronnie" Hampton, 36 (right), and James Smith, 52, but officials were not confirming their identities this afternoon.

The men were described by family as "stand-up guys", well known in the neighborhood and always willing to help neighbors.

Smith's ex-girlfriend, Debra Oatis, said outside the building this morning that Smith was a good man who had a son and two daughters. She remembered him as a man who shoveled sidewalks and mowed lawns for neighbors when he wasn't working his maintenance job.

"He's a good person, a kind hearted, hardworking man. He would always lend a helping hand," she said.

Among the crowd was Willie Mhoon, who said he found the men's bodies when he came to pick up Smith for work this morning.

Mhoon said he knocked on his co-worker's door and it pushed open. He said he assumed the man was sleeping so he began calling his name, but didn't get a response.

"I looked over and saw him laying there with his eyes open. He was shot with blood on his chest. I looked to the left and saw the other guy then I just took off and called 911," Mhoon said.

Mhoon said the apartment did not appear to have been ransacked and there were no noticeable signs of a struggle.

Others outside the building identified themselves as relatives of Hampton. His family members said he looked up to Smith like an uncle and had known him since he was a child.

They described Hampton as a quiet man who worked in heating and air conditioning maintenance.

"He was very soft spoken an affectionate, sensitive person," said his brother-in-law, Alan Tabor. According to Tabor, his brother-in-law and Smith would hang out practically every day, often playing cards.

He said Hampton was also taking care of his mother ill with breast cancer and often drove her to radiation treatment and brought her groceries.